Passover at Home

After many weeks of study, preparations, and lots of practice of the four questions, Passover is (almost) here, ready or not! (I won't comment on how ready I may or may not be at my own house...)

More than perhaps any other Jewish holiday, Passover is all about home and family. I hope your children will have a chance to share, celebrate and even teach others about what they've learned. I wanted to share some thoughts about specific ways Gan children can revisit their learning next week. (For some general ideas, here are a few good resources:  Kveller: Passover with Kids, Guide to Passover for Interfaith Families, Passover: Bible Belt Balabusta.

If you are attending or hosting a seder, your child's haggadah (which comes home today) should absolutely accompany him/her to the seder. The haggadah has one page dedicated to each step of the seder. As each step of the seder begins, your child can show the page and explain what's happening. The one step of the seder that has 2 pages is Maggid, or telling the story. One page features a picture chart of the 4 questions. Your child has practiced using that chart to recite the 4 questions, and knows how to point to the correct picture to help remind him/her of the words. (By the way, I'd LOVE to hear from you after the seders to hear about your child's experience sharing the mah nishtana and his/ her haggadah.)

Your child also created an afikoman bag that came home earlier this week. This bag can be used for hiding the middle matzah.

But, above all, Passover is about the story of our people's journey from slavery to freedom. Your children have read, discussed and acted out the story. You can give them a chance to tell or act out the story, at a seder or any other time. Here are a few shots of our reenactment of the story with our sixth grade buddies.

cruel taskmasters

The Burning Bush

"Let my people go!"

 Happy Passover!